In computer science, various data structures and associated ontologies can be implemented. Each data structure can be defined based on an associated schema. In some instances, communication between and/or integration of systems having disparate schemas and ontologies may be desired. In such instances, matching of schemas and/or ontologies is required.
The proliferation of the Internet has resulted in large numbers of schemas that are semantically heterogeneous. Semantic heterogeneity arises from differences in naming, structure and context (e.g., organizational, geographical, functional) in which the schemas are being used. Consequently, communication between and/or integration of systems having disparate schemas and ontologies has become an increasingly complex problem. In some instances, the complexity of these tasks requires users to find manual matches between schemas even with the help of commercial tools. However, manual specification of mappings can be both time consuming and error-prone, particularly in view of the number and size of schemas to be matched.